The forgotten occupation

Few in the United States have ever heard of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi people, or the 40-year conflict over this vast arid region in North Africa. But it represents one of the longest ongoing military occupations in the world — and the situation there may rapidly deteriorate without decisive action by the U.N. Security Council.

The Kingdom of Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since the end of a 16-year war between the countries in 1991, under the promise that Western Sahara could hold a vote on its independence. Twenty five years later, that vote has still not come. Last month, Morocco forcibly expelled dozens of U.N. staffers from the area, effectively grinding to a halt the work of a U.N. mission established at the end of the war.

This week, the Security Council is debating how to address these provocative actions. The international community cannot allow such brazen disregard for human rights to go unanswered. Given the major security issues in the region, it’s more important than ever for the U.S. and its allies to stand up for the Sahrawi people and demand the vote on independence they were promised 25 years ago.

Characterized as “the last colony of Africa,” Western Sahara was invaded by Morocco in 1975 as Spain withdrew its colonial footprint from the region. After Western Sahara’s 16-year war for its independence, the U.N. brokered a cease-fire agreement between the territory and Morocco, premised on the chance for a Western Sahara referendum on self-determination. The U.N. established a mission (MINURSO) to monitor the agreement and organize the referendum.

Despite the efforts of prominent American officials like former Secretary of State James Baker, who took a lead role in the push for a referendum, no vote for the Sahrawi people has been scheduled. Morocco has continued to expand its occupation of the territory for more than two decades, although neither the General Assembly — nor any other U.N. body — consider Morocco’s “annexation” as fulfilling the role of a sovereign authority there.

Distorted enough in its own right, this historic and political context still fails to convey the depth of human suffering the situation has imposed. The Western Sahara war split families across battle lines and produced an outpouring of refugees into southwestern Algeria, who remain there to this day. Additionally, last October’s epic rains in the Sahara Desert melted many Sahrawi refugee families’ mud brick dwellings in the camps, creating an aid crisis and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.

Moreover, the Moroccan government’s rule of the Sahrawi people on a day-to-day basis can be brutal. The Moroccan government actively represses free speech, and routinely assaults those who attempt to protest. One outside observer organization, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, documented 56 arbitrary arrests or due process violations, 50 cases of political prisoner abuse, 31 incidents of unjustified restrictions on freedom of movement, and 84 violations of the right to freedom of assembly, expression and association in the past two years alone. The center also reported one story (among several) of a young Sahrawi called Haidala that illustrates this random brutality.

Haidala was beaten and stabbed in the neck by five Moroccan men last year, but Haidala was the one arrested. The 21-year-old was then held without medical treatment for seven days, and once released, he was repeatedly refused treatment at hospitals because he was Sahrawi. After Haidala died from his wounds, Moroccan police confiscated his body and buried it in a secret location— despite his family’s protests. The tragic case of Haidala is not unique.

The abuse of the Western Sahara makes the support of Morocco by nations that normally champion human rights perplexing. For years, certain permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have continuously blocked adding a human rights monitoring element to the U.N. Mission in Western Sahara, which would allow for, among other things, the monitoring and public reporting of the maltreatment of those protesting the occupation. The U.N. mission in Western Sahara is one of the only ones of its kind to lack a human rights monitoring element. The consistent obstruction by permanent Security Council members points to more of a concern with political and economic leverage than with human rights.

Last month, the Western Sahara situation grew even more unstable because of a series of provocative acts by Morocco. Claiming to be insulted by the March visit of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when he used the term “occupation” to describe Morocco’s rule over the territory, Morocco kicked out dozens of staffers working on the MINURSO mission. With the eviction of the U.N., the threat of open war in the region looms larger than it has since 1991.

These actions prompted a March hearing, hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, on the status of human rights in Western Sahara. For the first time in years, experts provided on-the-record testimony of human rights abuses and gave recommendations for how to resolve this seemingly intractable conflict.

One overarching theme of the hearing was clear: The international community cannot continue to ignore the plight of Western Sahara. Growing instability threatens to make the situation worse and may eventually jeopardize the security of Europe and the United States. Harsh crackdowns on human rights by Morocco, while having the smaller effect of quieting dissent and propping up the kingdom in the short term, may ultimately further inflame violence and bloodshed throughout the region.

The solution for action is clear. First, international actors must pressure Morocco to protect the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people. As a part of this effort, foreign diplomats should swiftly address ongoing violations and bring them to the attention of Moroccan officials. Second, the U.S. and its allies should insist that Morocco, ostensibly a U.S. ally, allow for the return of the U.N. mission to Western Sahara and cease opposition to human rights monitoring in the Security Council proceedings.

Finally, Morocco should abide by its original commitment to allow a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people. Then, and only then, will there be hope for a day when the tragic stories of people like Haidala are a thing of the past.

Joseph R. Pitts, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and, along with John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan, co-chairs the Western Sahara Caucus.